Christianity is the religion, or religious system, instituted in Palestine,
through the works of the ministry of Jesus
Christ and his apostles and immediate followers. Subsequently this faith
has been adopted by many nations, and by the end of the 20th century professed
by over one-third of the world's population.

As described in Common beliefs, Christianity was derived from Judaism; the Jewish God Jehovah became the Christian
God. In Christianity Jehovah is still believed to be the Creator of the
world, or universe, and all things in it. One of the major distinctions
between the two religions occurs at this point; Christians believe that
God created the world through the personage of Jesus Christ (see Trinity). In this sense Christ is considered the
Logos of God as described in the Gospel of John, "In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word with God, and the Word was God And all things
were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made"
(John 1:1, 3). Jesus Christ emphasized this when saying "he who has
seen me, has seen the Father (God)"; "(for) I and the Father are
one" (John 14:9; 10:30).

Christ's most important part in Christianity, besides being its founder,
is that of redeemer; he was to reconcile humanity with God. It is believed
that because of the sin of Adam, original
sin, that man was separated from God and it is only through the salvation
of Christ, merited by his death and resurrection, that man is reunited with
God. This is the reason that Christ has been called the Second Adam; the
first Adam introduced sin into the world, Christ, the second Adam, took
it away. "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and
death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for all have sin. That as
sin has reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness
unto eternal life by Jesus Christ, our Lord" (Romans 5:12, 21).

Christians feel that the death and resurrection of Christ merited them
sanctifying grace from God which they were separated from by the sin of
Adam; the sin that forms the basis of the religion. Without such grace there
was no connection between God and man; this connection was restored through
the work of Christ. It is believed that God always loved man, even when
he was dead in sin; but God could not shower this love upon man until a
sufficient satisfaction or restitution was provided for sin. The suffering
death of Christ provided such satisfaction. It is further believed that
such grace comes to man only through the merits of Christ, and not by human
effort. Therefore, salvation, unity with God, requires the belief in Jesus
Christ: "For in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.
And you are complete in him who is the head of all principality and power"
(Colossians 2:9-10).

Christ is believed to be the promised Messiah. Other Jewish figures have
been thought to bear the marks of the messiah, but none accompanied Jesus,
and since it has been determined impossible for them to possess these marks
as have been made concerning Jesus in relation to God. Jesus is seen as
the way to God, "Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the
life; for no man comes unto the Father, but by me" (John 14:6); therefore
the new Christian community, which served to form the Church, believed theirs
was the way to God. It was further believed that the Church became the body
of Christ, "Now you are the body of Christ, and member in particular"
(1 Corinthians 14:27); sometimes referred to as the Mystical Body of Christ.

Common beliefs:

The principle treatise of Christianity is embodied within the Apostles' Creed, which is generally accepted
by almost all Western churches. Within the Creed are stated the fundamental
beliefs composing Christianity. The initial belief pertains to God, "I
believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth."
As observed, this belief is similar to, if not identical with, the belief
concerning God in Judaism, as seen in the Bible from Genesis 1:1 to Genesis
2:3 God made the world, universe, and everything in it in seven days and
rested. The reason for this similarity of belief is because the Christian
belief in God was adopted from Judaism from which Christianity emerged.
There is, however, a greater emphasis on the fatherhood, principally depicting
the Father as the creator of all things, which distinguishes him from Jesus,
the Son. Christian belief not only affirms that God created humankind, but
that he cares and provides for man as well; furthermore, man, positioned
just below angels, is seen as the crowning work of God's creation.

In the Creed the second fundamental belief is in Jesus Christ as stated,
"I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived
by the power of the Holy Spirit and
born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under
Pontius Pilate, crucified, died, and was
buried. He descended to the dead (see Descent
into Hell). On he third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven and
is seated at the right hand of the Father." This belief in Jesus Christ
is essential to Christianity because it conveys not just a belief in the
person of Jesus, but in what he suffered, his death and resurrection as
well as his ascension into heaven where he sits at the right hand of God.
The belief embodies all of Christendom, and separates Christianity from
all other religions.

Before proceeding to the next declarations of the Creed the various parts
of this belief should be examined in order to gain a better comprehension
of Christianity. First, there is the affirmation of the belief in the person
of Jesus Christ, his only Son, God's only Son, our Lord. The inspiration
for such affirmation is Biblical, from both the Old Testament and the New
Testament: "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between
thy seed and her seed; he shall bruise thy head, and thou shall bruise his
heel" (Genesis 3:15). "And the angel said unto her, Fear not Mary,
for thou hast found favor with God. And behold, thou shall conceive in thy
womb, and bring forth a son, and shall call his name Jesus. And he shall
be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall
give unto him the throne of his father, David.
And he shall reign over the house of Jacob
forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end" (Luke 1:30-33).

The belief that Christ was born of the Virgin Mary also is Biblically
born out. Upon hearing the angel's announcement to her, Mary asked, "How
shall this be, seeing I know not a man?" The angel explains, "The
Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow
thee; therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be
called the Son of God" (Luke 1:34-35).

The next belief of the Creed is that he suffered under Pontius Pilate.
Pilate, the governor of Judea, was the official to whom the Jewish chief
priests and Sanhedrin brought Jesus before
for conviction. The governor after questioning Jesus found him innocent
(Luke 23:14). Upon announcing this to the crowd, Pilate still found himself
facing the same situation for the crowd demanded Jesus be crucified. A possible
way out presented itself, which was to follow a custom observed at Passover,
which was to release a condemned criminal; therefore, he gave the people
a choice between Barabbas, a murderer, and Jesus. He was to receive their
decision seated in front of the palace. As soon as he was seated Pilate
given a message, which he discovered was from his wife informing him that
she had suffered many things in a dream, and urged him not to condemn the
Just One. (Matthew 27:15-17).

Still hesitant, Pilate then asked them why, what evil has he done? And
the crowd cried out more intensely, Crucify him. The situation became clear
to Pilate, the priests had stirred up the crowd, and he had only one way
out, which was to release Barabbas. Then he ordered Jesus scourged before
being crucified (Mark 15:14-15).

Jesus was crucified at the place known as Golgotha, place of a skull.
He was nailed, in his hands and feet, to the cross and raised. A sign was
placed over his head reading, "This is Jesus, the King of the Jews."
Many mocked him as he hung there, even the two thieves crucified beside
him. There came darkness upon the area from the sixth to the ninth hour.
It was then Jesus uttered, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
When some heard this, they said, "This man calls for Elijah. A man
held up vinegar on a sponge for Jesus to drink. Others said, "Let him
be, let us see if Elijah will come to save him." Jesus cried once more,
and yielded up the spirit (Matthew 27:33-50).

The belief that Christ descended into hell to the dead is surrounded
with much uncertainty, especially for modern Christians who vision hell
as a place of everlasting fire and torment. The analysis of such uncertainty
reveals it has both Biblical and cultural basis. The Biblical basis include
such verses as "And I say unto you that many shall come from the east
and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom
of heaven" (Matthew 8:11). "And it came to pass that the beggar
died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom; the rich man also
died, and was buried; and in hades
he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and saw Abraham afar off, and
Lazarus in his bosom" (Luke 16:22-23). "And the graves were opened;
and the many bodies of the saints that slept were raised, and came out of
the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared
unto many" (Matthew 27:52-53). Paul speaks of Jesus descending "into
lower parts of the earth" (Ephesians 4:9) before he ascended into heaven.
"For Christ did once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that
he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive
by the Spirit, by whom also he went and preached unto spirits in prison,
who at one time were disobedient, when once the long-suffering of God waited
in the days of Noah, while the ark was preparing, in which few, that is,
eight souls, were saved by water" (1 Peter 3:18-20).

From reading the above verse one sees that the existed a belief in the
existence of a place where the spirits of the dead resided. Particularly,
when reading the passages concerning Abraham's bosom, one sees there also
a belief that both the good and bad spirits of the dead resided in separate
places after death. It was generally assumed this or these places were beneath
the earth. It is significant that Paul, a Roman citizen and certainly acquainted
with Roman and Greek mythology, states that Christ descended into the lower
parts of the earth. Also significance is the mentioning of Hades, where
the rich man resided after death, in contrast to Abraham's bosom. In Greek
mythology Hades was known as the habitation of the dead, or shades; and
it was subterranean, also people came out of Hades. The Greeks were not
the only culture to believe the spirits of the dead resided beneath the
earth, the Hebrews had their Sheol. In Hebrew
Sheol means a grave or pit, underground, perhaps beneath mountains, a place
where the dead gathered to lead a conscious shadowy existence. It was thought
the dead did not suffer torment, but had neither hope nor satisfaction,
and were separated from God. These statements offer proof that concepts
from former religious ideologies were syncretized into early Christianity.
Also, they show that the modern concept of the Christian hell was derived
from previous concepts.

It is believed that Jesus ascended into heaven and is seated at the right
hand of the Father. According to the Bible that after the Lord had spoken
unto them, he was received into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God
(Mark 16:19).

Next is the affirmation of the belief in the Holy Spirit. It is believed
that the Holy Spirit is God, the Third person of the holy Trinity, who is
equal to and proceeds from the Father and the Son, and they operate through
him.

Following is the profession of the belief in the holy catholic, universal,
Church (Holy catholic Church),
which includes all churches, institutions, and doctrines which claim as
their basis a continuous tradition of faith and practice extending from
the apostles--the claim is contrasted with the Protestant appeals to the
Bible alone. Hence, the term "catholic" also refers to Christians
who accept the traditional doctrines and practices, for example, devotion
to Mary and the sacraments.

The next professed belief is the communion
of saints affirming the unity of the faithful, both the living and the
dead, in union with Jesus Christ and with each other. The Latin communio
sanctorum could also mean "communion of holy things," especially
sharing in the sacraments.

In affirming his belief in the forgiveness
of sins the Christian is expressing the fundamental truth held by every
believer in relationship to his sins is the fact that his salvation comprehends
the forgiveness of all of his trespasses past, present, and future so far
as condemnation is concerned (Romans 3:1; Colossians 2:13; John 3:18; John
5:24). This is believed because Christ vicariously borne all sin and since
the believer's standing in Christ is complete, he is perfected forever in
Christ.

The resurrection of the
body is an important Christian belief that the body is reunited with
the soul after it has been separated by death. The body shall rise again.
The integrity of man's being, a creature of soul and body, shall be restored.
This is believed because of the belief in Christ's resurrection, for he
said, "I am the resurrection and the life" (John 11:25).

Life everlasting, or eternal
life, is believed to be a gift from God as a result of having faith in Jesus
Christ (Ephesians 2:8-10). . Christ said, "I have come that you may
have life, and they might have it abundantly" (John 10:10).

It is by the affirmation of the beliefs within this creed that the Christian
religion has withstood through the centuries; the Catholics maintain since
the days of Christ and St. Peter, the first Pope. Some often overlook its
past and present seeking to present a picture of a religion which has dignified
and cared for people by perpetuating agape love among people in order to
assure unity with their God. However, this picture is not always discernable
when considering certain scriptures. Jesus said, "If you love me, keep
my commandments" (John 14:14). Jesus further taught when comparing
himself to the vine, "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot
bear fruit of itself, except it abides in the vine, no more can you, except
you abide in me, I am the vine, you are the branches. He that abides in
me, and I in him, the same brings forth fruit; for without me, you can do
nothing. If a man abides not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is
withered; and men gather them, and cast them into fire, and they are burned"
(John 15:4-6).
This seems to sum up the basic belief of Christianity: everything rests
on the belief in Jesus, without it nothing is possible, the person and everything
is lost. A.G.H.